Hot Patterns 1138 - Or, I finally finished something

My posts are now so far and few between that I feel like I should start every one off with "Yep, still alive." Blame Instagram. Blame my lack of home technology. I really need a new desktop computer but don't want to spend the bucks on it. I have a decent laptop but I really dislike blogging on it, so I'm just not doing it. Plus, I just haven't been sewing as much. A lot of that was some weight gain and not feeling motivated to sew for a body I wasn't keeping, but I'm back on track again after a kickstart with the Whole30 program.

Whole30 is a "whole" 'nother post but the short version is that I like it. I don't feel deprived at all and have found it pretty easy to eat this way. Mostly because its how I want to eat, how I used to eat. I just got lazy the last year and slid down a slippery slope. But I have a wedding to attend in May 2017 (my stepson Michael) and I'm determined to look great again by then.

So onto my latest finished project, the HotPatterns Metropolitan Verano dress. It seems that this very easy sew takes me FOREVER to finish. The last time I made it, I had started it and then lost *that* job and so it sat on Zillie. It sat on Zillie this time too, but not for any bad reason. I was just focused on other things. And once again, I'm wondering why I let it sit. I love my new dress. It's easy and comfortable to wear and I think it's flattering. I'm really not into shifts or boxy silhouettes. They look horrible on me. This dress with its elastic waist will also still fit for a while as I go down in sizes, which is great.

Speaking of sizes, this is the same straight 12 I made last time except this time I tilted the upper back bodice inward on the fold to remove a little neckline width since I had to take two darts in the back neck last time to compensate for gaping. My down-n-dirty fix worked; no darts needed. Now I am not a 12 in anything but Hot Patterns so please, please do muslins (even partial) for these patterns. They run big from their measurement chart, but it's pretty consistent across the pattern line.

No great photography here at Chez Stitches and Seams. Work bathroom selfies all the way. Heh heh.

Here's how the untwisted fronts sat and sat, mocking me.

The pattern calls for a neckline facing and while it's pretty much OK in my first make of this dress, I'm not in love. So I tossed that pattern piece (figuratively) and just turned the edge twice and stitched. I like this finish much, much better, even if it take 437 pins.

Here's what it looks like on the inside. This method means changing the construction order so that the center front is sewn after finishing the neckline and then just stitched as high as you want the neckline to plunge (or not).

I also took the same shortcuts for the waist as I did last time. I did not overlock the seams and created a casing from the seam allowances between the bodice and skirt. I threaded elastic through and just ran it over the sideseam and under the front twist/knot. Easy-peasy and no one but us knows the difference. The other change from the pattern that I made was to cut the back pieces on the fold to eliminate unnecessary seams.

I didn't add my super nifty card key loop on this, because I forgot. But I realized I can just clip it into the knot/twist, which is just as handy.

Extra goofy face.

And here's the flip-flop pic once I got home, so you can see the fit a little better. With a little Chili photobomber.

I've got another Cashmerette Concord tee (with a Hot Patterns inspired hack) cut out. Hopefully, I'll be back here with that sooner rather than later.

Stay well!